King Vikramaditya pulled down the corpse, put it on his shoulder and set out for his kingdom. After some time, Baital who as usual could not keep quiet, spoke to King Vikramaditya, “Remain quiet if you want to. But I will tell you a story to make the journey short and comfortable. And I expect that you will answer my questions. Even if you do not wish to, you will have to because I will break your head into pieces.’’ King Vikramaditya did not utter a word. Nevertheless, Baital began telling the story—“There was a Brahmin whose name was Haridatta. He lived in the city of Kashi. He had a beautiful daughter whose name was Leelavati. She was of a marriageable age. But Haridatta was not able to find a groom for her as he was poor. Once, when Leelavati was sleeping in her room, a young man crept into her room.
Leelavati
